The adult is black, slightly smaller than a house fly, with three or four white stripes across the body in the males and females, respectively, and has a prominent white spot in the middle of the back. The wings are clear, with four black bands shaped somewhat like the letter "F."

Maggots are white and legless and reach about 1/4 inch at maturity. Pupae resemble a grain of wheat.

Food

Hosts include apples, cherries, and hawthorns.

Life Cycle

Adults emerge during the summer (mid- June), with peak emergence in July and August. One generation a year. Some larvae don't mature until a year later.

Remarks

It is native to North America. It primarily fed on wild hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), but in the past 100 years it has become a pest of cultivated apples and cherries.

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